j1doc

Hi everyone,
I am a German citizen in the US on a J1 visa with HRR, and will marry my USC fiancee shortly before I will go home to fulfil my HRR. I will stay in Germany for the 2 years, but my fiancee (then wife) will work in England for the 2 years, and visit me every weekend. Three questions:
1) How do I document the fulfilment of the HRR?
2) Would they believe us that we spent the time away from each other, or is the fact that my fiancee is in another foreign country close by a red flag to tell them that I may not have been in Germany for the whole time?
3) If my fiancee files the I130 petition for me BEFORE we leave the US, would they want to see the tax returns then, before she works in England, or after the HRR is fulfilled (in other words, when is the earliest that we can file the I-864, before or after the fulfilment of the HRR).

I appreciate your input and advice. Thanks.

j1doc

Please let me know if you have answers to the above mentioned questions. Thanks a lot.

Ingo Pakleppa - See Web Site For Email

On Fri, 09 Jan 2004 11:50:38 +0000, j1doc wrote:

    >
    > Hi everyone,
    >
    > I am a German citizen in the US on a J1 visa with HRR, and will marry my
    > USC fiancee shortly before I will go home to fulfil my HRR. I will stay
    > in Germany for the 2 years, but my fiancee (then wife) will work in
    > England for the 2 years, and visit me every weekend. Three questions:
    >
    > 1) How do I document the fulfilment of the HRR?

All kinds of evidence is possible, for instance pay stubs
(Gehaltsabrechnungen), rent receipts, etc. It is rarely a problem.

    > 2) Would they believe us that we spent the time away from each other, or
    > is the fact that my fiancee is in another foreign country close by a
    > red flag to tell them that I may not have been in Germany for the
    > whole time?

It all depends on the situation. If you received a salary from a company
in Germany, your story is a lot more credible. Also, be sure to keep her
and your boarding passes, tickets etc. as evidence. Boarding passes are
particularly important because they can help establish exact dates when
you left the USA.

Similarly, phone bills can be very helpful.

    > 3) If my fiancee files the I130 petition for me BEFORE we leave the US,
    > would they want to see the tax returns then, before she works in
    > England, or after the HRR is fulfilled (in other words, when is the
    > earliest that we can file the I-864, before or after the fulfilment
    > of the HRR).

I'm actually not sure if you need the I-864 together with the I-130 or
with the application for an immigrant visa. I think it is the latter, so
you would need the evidence, tax returns etc. at that time.

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LucyMO

INgo is right about pay stubs, rent, boarding passes.

However, I do have doubts about this particular phrase, since in my understanding I-130 and application for an immigrant visa are the same thing:

"I'm actually not sure if you need the I-864 together with the I-130 or with the application for an immigrant visa. I think it is the latter, so you would need the evidence, tax returns etc. at that time."

I would say that you have to read http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/residency/family.htm and http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/spouselive.htm very carefully.

Sylvia Ottemoeller

"LucyMO" <member20158@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

    > INgo is right about pay stubs, rent, boarding passes.

    > However, I do have doubts about this particular phrase, since in my
    > understanding I-130 and application for an immigrant visa are the
    > same thing:

They are different things. Form I-130 is a Petition for Alien Relative,
with which a petitioner who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident
requests that the beneficiary, a relative, be classified in a category. The
approval of this petition confers no status whatsoever on the beneficiary.
It merely classifies that person in a category with *potential* to immigrate
to the U.S. Filing this starts the first phase of family-based immigration.

The application for an immigrant visa is Form DS 230; see
http://travel.state.gov/DS-0230.pdf. With this application, the applicant,
who is the beneficiary of an immigrant petition, requests an immigrant visa
to be issued at a U.S. consular post. This starts the last phase of
immigration, if the person has selected consular immigrant visa processing.

Consular immigrant visa processing is part of the permanent resident process
for only a subset of permanent resident applicants. If the
beneficiary/applicant is in the U.S. in certain statuses, he or she can file
Form I-485, application for adjustment of status to permanent resident, and
never file Form DS 230.

    > "I'm actually not sure if you need the I-864 together with the I-130 or
    > with the application for an immigrant visa. I think it is the latter, so
    > you would need the evidence, tax returns etc. at that time."

    > I would say that you have to read
    > http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/residency/family.htm and
    > http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/spouselive.htm very
    > carefully.

The I-864 is not filed as part of the documentation supporting the I-130.
It is not exactly filed with the DS 230 either.

In consular immigrant visa processing, the I-864 is submitted to NVC sort of
in between the I-130 and the DS 230. See
http://travel.state.gov/i864gen.html.

In adjustment of status, the I-864 is submitted with the I-485.

LucyMO

Thanks for clarifying it for me. I am not doing CP, so naturally I am only familiar with the AOS procedures, and when you are adjusting in the States, I-130 is called an application for an immigrant visa.

Now, my parents did file DS-230, but no I-130, since they have no relatives here who are able to sponsor them.

Thanks!